[Goldie]

Well i am thinking about buying a 1978 pontiac firebird formula so i can finally join the community but here is the thing it is just the car no engine no transmission and well i have found a pontiac 400 ci. and a th-400 is this a good idea i am getting the car for $400 and the engine and transmission for $100? Help i need info quick

[Goldie]

Well i am thinking about buying a 1978 pontiac firebird formula so i can finally join the community but here is the thing it is just the car no engine no transmission and well i have found a pontiac 400 ci. and a th-400 is this a good idea i am getting the car for $400 and the engine and transmission for $100? Help i need info quick

[Brian Baker]

Provided the block is not cracked, I'd say you were stealing it for $100.

$400 is not much for this car, what kind of shape is it in?

[Goldie]

Supposedly not sure but supposeldy it is missing the engine and the transmission and the carpet lol. It is perfect other wise. I am wondering where the heck this offer came from lol. I am suppost to go look at it with a guy on friday it is over in lake dallas. But is this a hard engine to make fast?

[mikeb]

One thing to watch for - that car probably came with a TH-350. The TH-400 will fit but you'll have to modify the trans crossmember and find a driveshaft that will work (or have one made).

Also, the 350 takes a kickdown cable and the 400 uses an electric kickdown switch near the gas pedal.

I just went through this swap on my 79 bird (TH-350 -> TH-400) and those were the issues I found.

Still, $100 for both is a steal.

And yes the 400 responds well to mods, and you can put in a stroker kit and make a "455" out of it.

It's more of a bolt-in if the block has the dual engine mount pattern (5 bolt holes per side) or the later pattern (3 bolt holes per side). Earlier blocks have 2 bolt holes and you may have to scramble a bit to engineer a workable engine mount for the 78 frame.

On the body look for rust around the rear wheel wells, the rear window, and the floorpan.

[old68goat]

Jennifer -- after having built several cars out of 'donors' i strongly suggest that unless you have both mechanical skills and lots of money i would buy something running. while it looks to be more expensive now, it will be much less costly in the mid- and long-term. my 2 cents. good luck.

[dyingbreed]

Jennifer,
In a day or so, I'll be moving this topic to the 77-81 Firebird, T/A Tech section of the PY forums. It won't get burried amongst the other post as quick and will most likely get more responses.

db

[76TA428]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by old68goat:
Jennifer -- after having built several cars out of 'donors' i strongly suggest that unless you have both mechanical skills and lots of money i would buy something running. while it looks to be more expensive now, it will be much less costly in the mid- and long-term. my 2 cents. good luck. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I highly agree with this. I bought a $300 car and luckily it had a very well built engine and a hunk of a 4 speed. 4k later and it is still not ready for the road yet. Of course I did buy a brand new th400. The crossmember took some modifications to it and I lucked out big time with the drive shaft. Now if that car has almost no rust then you might only end up dropping a few thousand into it for a good daily driver. I didn't think I was going to put this much cash into it but all the small things add up.

[Goldie]

Well the reason it is in this forum is because it will not be a daily driver this would be a temp. set up for a 1/8th mile drag car. I am just looking to see if it was a good idea. I am really thinking about puttin a 350 in it to race. Just this to get it running. The reason i am not buying a running car is beacuse i want to do the work and invest the moeny myself not get somthing some one else did.

[OldmanGoat]

It sounds like you are looking for a project car, and that 'bird should fit the bill nicely. If the suspension & body are in fair shape, and the block on the 400 is good, you would have a pretty small initial investment towards doing as much as you want with the car. The Pontiac 400 can be made to do just about anything you want, as far as power goes. From easy 9's with simple upgrades, all the way to bore & stroke kits taking you to the 7's in the 1/8th mile.
Pontiac Dude(Kens Speed shop), Butlers(JPB), Kaufman, and a few others are happy to create you a complete package tailored for the power you want. As far as the transmission goes, the TH400 is hard to beat and you can find boneyard crossmembers and driveshafts from just about any '70-'75 Firdbird/TA that had an auto. Best of luck to you!

[69Goat1]

Why are you thinking about a 350 (Chevy I presume) that 400 can do anything the 350 Chevy can do...

[Goldie]

Looking at a 350 simply because the jerks out here that think the only good racing is small blocks. I think i will be the only one i race with with a big block if you can call it that. But i dont kno we will see whenever it really comes down to time. Also the people helping me build it dont know what to do with anything but big blocks. So if you guys on here can help me make this into a fast 7sec big block i would love that. but that is the reason why a 350...

[Hot Rod]

They won't be that way for long, I still own my house in Southlake just north of DFW... We will see what we will see...... In a couple of years I will be there if not sooner.... I am about fed up with this area.....

Rodney

[Brian Baker]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jennifer:
Well the reason it is in this forum is because it will not be a daily driver this would be a temp. set up for a 1/8th mile drag car. I am just looking to see if it was a good idea. I am really thinking about puttin a 350 in it to race. Just this to get it running. The reason i am not buying a running car is beacuse i want to do the work and invest the moeny myself not get somthing some one else did. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You'll save a ton of money buying something finished, trust me.

My T/A is now up for sale, asking $5500 (minus engine and tranny), and the chassis is certified to 7.50 (1/4 mile). Let's just say that I spent way more than double what I'm asking to build this chassis/body.

[larry davis]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Brian Baker:
You'll save a ton of money buying something finished, trust me.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yep!

[Jagtec1]

I agree with the idea that you'll be better off buying something already finished, or close to it. I bought a 69 Lemans...not in bad shape, but needed work...now I have more $$ in it than I can count, or even care to count, and it still needs work. I easily have over $6-7K in it, and I still need to build the motor! Although the rear, entire suspension, entire brake system, and many other things are all new! Whatever you do, just make sure safety comes first...make it stop and make sure the susp. is safe.

[mikeb]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jennifer:
Looking at a 350 simply because the jerks out here that think the only good racing is small blocks. I think i will be the only one i race with with a big block if you can call it that. But i dont kno we will see whenever it really comes down to time. Also the people helping me build it dont know what to do with anything but big blocks. So if you guys on here can help me make this into a fast 7sec big block i would love that. but that is the reason why a 350... <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You should be able to build up a nice pontiac 400 that will bust off some easy 7's in the 1/8th. I'm running 7.60s with a very mild 455 combo (small cam, headers, intake, mismatched converter & rear gears, head ports cleaned up a little) and hopefully will be doing 7.30's shortly.

2nd gen birds are heavy and pontiac torque comes in handy to move them.

Please don't create a chevyack!

The problem I see with your roller is coming up with the little stuff - bolts, brackets, sensors, hoses, etc. That stuff adds up in a hurry when bought piecemeal.

If you want to continue with the roller then be prepared to spend about twice as long and about twice as much to finish it than you expected.

Another option is to find a car that runs and start from there. A lot easier and you can still bust your knuckles and bleed on it while hopping it up.

[bmpmdf]

Ok, since alot of you guys are in the DFW area, why not get together with Jennifer and take a look at the car she is considering? I have learned over the years that sometimes the only way in is to build something from nearly nothing. But the last few years I have been blessed with being able to buy or trade for cars that were alot of what I wanted. My Vega is a perfect exapmle of a chassis car that is an old race car, but is still certified to 7.50 1/4 mile e.t. I would not be able to consider building another one for what I paid for it. At the same time, I have a 68 Firebird that was wrecked on every corner 9 years ago and I have put qtrs., fenders and doors on it along with a fiberglass hood. I have a buyer for it now, but no way will I come close to what is in it, but that car got me back to the track !

[Goldie]

Well i want somthing that i can say i built. I want somthing that can hit people and keep them looking. My prob. is i want pontiac power but no one around here even knows what a pontiac is none the less do they know that it can create power. So i am getting a rolling chassis and then somthing that i can build that is my point.


If you guys have any suggestions on this i would love your help.

[Major Payne]

Something like this might be interesting:

http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/116_0306_pont/